UCLA Law Names New Assistant Dean for Experiential Education

UCLA School of Law has named Allison Korn Assistant Dean for Experiential Education, bolstering the school’s trailblazing clinical program.

A seasoned advocate with deep roots in clinical and public interest programs, Korn has been the clinical director for the Resnick Program on Food Law and Policy at UCLA Law since 2016. She starts in her role as assistant dean on Sept. 25.

In this position, Korn will provide administrative leadership to the law school’s experiential program — including its extensive skills curriculum, live-client clinics and externship program.

For nearly half a century, UCLA Law has encouraged students to gain professional skills and experience while offering assistance to underserved people and communities. Among the roughly 70 courses currently available are clinics in criminal defense, trial and appellate advocacy, environmental law, mediation, contract drafting and tax law. Furthering its mission of innovation and practical education in the public interest, UCLA Law is also launching or expanding initiatives in advocacy for veterans, immigration law and policy, human rights and documentary filmmakers.

In the spring of 2017, Korn launched a first-in-California food law clinic, in which students collaborate with the Los Angeles Food Policy Council to assess the efforts to harvest and deliver unused, edible food to people in need, and work with the advocacy group Compassion Over Killing to help purveyors of plant-based products get healthier meals integrated into school programs.

Korn will continue teaching the food law clinic once a year.

“I have really enjoyed working with students and advocates through the food law clinic,” Korn said. “I could not be more excited to help carry UCLA Law’s trailblazing experiential program forward, both for students seeking practical training and for communities in need of strong legal advocacy.”

Before joining UCLA Law, Korn was a fellow at the University of Baltimore School of Law, where she co-taught the Family Law Clinic and supervised students in their direct representation of clients and in advocacy work before the Maryland state legislature. Prior to that, she taught at the University of Mississippi School of Law, where she designed programs addressing poverty in the region.

Korn was also a member of the inaugural class of family defense attorneys at the Bronx Defenders in New York, representing parents in matters related to child welfare and potential removal of children from their families. In addition, she was a staff attorney for National Advocates for Pregnant Women.

Korn is a graduate of Roanoke College, where she was the David Bittle Scholar, and earned her J.D. from the University of Mississippi School of Law. While in law school, she co-founded the Student Hurricane Network, a national network of more than 5,500 law students advancing the cause of social justice in communities affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.